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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24607930">revolution</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewagan/pseuds/ewagan'>ewagan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Revolutionary Girl Utena Fusion, Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, Vignette</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:48:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24607930</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewagan/pseuds/ewagan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>the dangerous thing about hope is its ability to break a person. tenn has managed this long because he doesn’t hope that someone will save him. he knows that no one will save him, because this isn’t a fairytale, no prince is coming on his white horse.</p>
</blockquote>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kujou Ten/Yaotome Gaku</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>revolution</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>all the usual warnings for utena, though there are no graphic descriptions. most things are implied instead of explicit, following ikuhara tradition.</p><p>warnings for:<br/>- attempted suicide<br/>- stabbing</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>もしも願い一つだけ叶うなら<br/>
君の側で眠らせて どんな場所でもいいよ<br/>
<em>If I could have only one wish<br/>
Let me sleep right next to you; it doesn't matter where</em><br/>
- Beautiful World, Utada Hikaru</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>the sun rises and the sun sets. a revolution.</p><p>the year ends and a new one begins. another revolution.</p><p>they keep saying the word revolution like it must mean something, but they are all spinning, spinning, trapped in this tiny world where nothing ever changes.</p><p>what does it mean when they say revolution? what do they mean when they say they want the power to create a revolution?</p><p>if they simply want to change themselves, there is no need for the power of the rose bride.</p><p>the wheel begins to turn, signalling the start of another cycle.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>a single white rose, perfect and pure.</p><p>yaotome gaku looks every bit a prince with his wooden practice sword, participating in a duel he has no idea about. tenn wonders when erin had found him, what he’d said to encourage such naivety and idealism in a person.</p><p>it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t win this first duel, because he’d simply be a failure in a long list of failures.</p><p>but he wins, because torao is too arrogant and lacking in conviction to stand up in the face of gaku’s righteous indignation. petals scatter and the bells ring, announcing a new victor, a new contestant, the wheel of revolution beginning to turn.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>yaotome gaku is a fool, he thinks. but perhaps a fool will succeed where the hero could not. </p><p>in the quiet of the planetarium, he cuts the deck and draws out a card, lays it flat before him.</p><p>not all fools are heroes, but almost every hero is a fool.</p><p>he turns the card over, even though he knows which card it is already. the wheel of fortune mocks him, reminds him that everything that goes up must come down. </p><p>another revolution.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>nothing changes, erin says.</p><p>nothing changes, he echoes.</p><p>nothing has to be the same, gaku says, hand outstretched for tenn to take.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>grant me the power to bring the world revolution!</em>
</p><p>sometimes he wonders if gaku knows what he is saying when he pulls the sword out, if he is truly seeking out a revolution. power to bring the world to revolution in the hands of someone who doesn’t want a revolution. his chest aches today, for some reason. tenn thought he’d lost the ability to feel pain already, but maybe something has shifted in the last few weeks.</p><p>tenn watches the match with a carefully vacant expression while gaku dodges another jab from torao. it was a clumsy strike, and torao really should know better as someone who was the captain of the kendo club. but tenn supposes desperation is getting the better of him.</p><p>the wheel of fortune goes up and up and up. but a wheel can only go so high before it begins to fall. and torao is now falling, falling, falling.</p><p>
  <em>tenn isn't the rose bride! he isn't something for you to use! did you ever ask him what he wants?</em>
</p><p>how sweet of gaku to say that. how foolish of gaku to think that tenn isn't ever right where he wants to be.</p><p>rose petals scatter and bells ring. another duel closer to revolution.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“things are moving quite nicely,” erin says. his smile doesn’t reach his eyes anymore, for all that he always looks ready to laugh, to dance.</p><p>tenn looks at the roses he’s arranging in their vase, the scent of them sweet and sickly. one of the petals is already marred with rot, brown creeping along the edges of the white despite being freshly cut. he frowns at it and it seems to wilt even more.</p><p>“i suppose they are,” he’ll have to get more roses from the greenhouse later if they wilt so quickly now.</p><p>erin comes to stand behind him, resting his chin on tenn’s shoulder. he plucks out that one imperfect rose, smiling as he does so. the rose shrivels in his grasp, the petals curling and turning brown before it all crumbles into fine black dust.</p><p>“what a shame,” erin murmurs. tenn wonders if he means the rose or something else.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“you're always in here,” gaku is at the door to the greenhouse, and tenn is examining the rose bushes. all perfect, in various stages of bloom. </p><p>“someone has to take care of the roses,” he says. watering, then maybe some pruning so that they don’t get too tall. “could you fill the watering can for me?” he asks. gaku likes to be relied upon, even for small things. he nods and goes to retrieve the watering can from its place, familiar now from all the hours spent in here with tenn.</p><p>it doesn't take gaku very long to return with an overfull watering can, and tenn is done inspecting the rose bushes. he’ll have to cut some blooms and have them sent to erin; it’s almost time for another duel. “thank you,” he says, taking the watering can from gaku. he starts near the door, slowly working his way around the greenhouse.</p><p>“tenn, does this make you happy?”</p><p>his grip around the watering can tightens. he hasn't thought about happy in a long time. it's been a long time since someone had asked him that, and longer since that they genuinely cared about the answer.</p><p>but he keeps his face calm, offers gaku a vapid smile. “of course. why wouldn't it?”</p><p>gaku seems to hesitate, like he has more to say, questions to ask. but he seems to think the better of it, nodding and accepting what tenn tells him. he never pushes, for better or worse.</p><p>“i'll see you later, at dinner?”</p><p>“yes, of course.” another smile, a tilt of his head. gaku seems uncertain before he turns away, and tenn wonders if he’s slipping. that wouldn’t be good, he thinks. things had been coming along so nicely too.</p><p>he turns back to the roses to finish watering them, until they shimmer as the light refracts back at him. perfect blooms in an impossible array of colours. he regards these rose bushes, so carefully cultivated for a game that he has no choice in. what if he destroyed them? ripped them up from their roots and salted the soil, ruined it so thoroughly that nothing would ever grow again?</p><p>instead, he gets the gardening shears and starts pruning the bushes. he forgoes the gloves, because little can hurt him these days. when he pricks his fingers on a thorn, it's more fascinating to watch the blood well up, bright against his pale skin. then, he sticks his finger in the soil.</p><p>want not, waste not.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>something eternal, something that shines, that which is a miracle. the power to change everything.</p><p>torao. iori. yuki. haruka. the reasons for the duels, the things that all of them seek are so simple, yet so utterly complicated. tenn smiles serenely through them all.</p><p>the roses bud and bloom in the greenhouse, secrets unfurling with their petals.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>the phone ringing echoes through the room, reminds him how empty and hollow it all is. nothing to soften the edges of it, so harsh and jangling until tenn picks up.</p><p>“tenn. what are you doing?” the crackle of static, the stars rotating around him. a revolution, even here.</p><p>“watching the stars,” he answers.</p><p>“the sky is clear tonight, there’s no need to be in the planetarium.”</p><p>“i didn’t want to look at the real ones.” the stars here don’t seem so cruel, tenn thinks. they do not shimmer with malice. “did you get tonight’s roses?”</p><p>“i did. thank you. you’ve done well.”</p><p>there is the click of the phone being put down and then the dial tone in his ear. how tempting it is to fling the phone at the stupid projector, at this entire farce of a production. instead, he replaces the phone in its cradle almost gently.</p><p>constellations spin around his head, stars reflect in his eyes. his hands are covered in small cuts from cutting the roses. the prettiest roses are the thorniest, after all.</p><p>he wonders if gaku feels betrayed yet.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>a prince is noble, pure of heart. a prince is supposed to be incorruptible, to have conviction of justice.</p><p>a would-be prince stumbles into the bedroom they share and tenn pretends to be asleep, pretends that he doesn't know what has happened, that he had no hand in it. he pretends he doesn't feel the weight of gaku's gaze on him, how shame and regret seem to coalesce in the room, curling around them as the night slowly turns to day.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>it's so cold up here, and the wind is so strong. if he lets go, the wind will blow him away. he's sure of it.</p><p>and if he is not here, gaku does not have to fight. gaku can leave. perhaps a little more broken than when they drew him into this game, but he will forget soon enough, he can be someone else's prince. something shining and eternal, a miracle for having survived this, and power enough to change his own world.</p><p>so tenn lets go.</p><p>falling must hurt less than the million swords, he thinks.</p><p>except he doesn't, because gaku, <em>foolish</em> gaku, is there. he is there and his hand is wrapped around tenn's wrist, holding him fast, pulling him back.</p><p>“let go!”</p><p>“you promised me, tenn!”</p><p>there is a terrifying moment where gaku’s grip slips, but then gaku hauls him back onto the safety of the ledge, the two of them collapsing on the floor.</p><p>“you promised,” he says again, softer now. his hands curl around tenn’s, an apology, a promise.</p><p>gaku, who had fought duel after duel and won, almost invincible in his conviction. gaku, who was now hunched over and holding tenn’s hand like it was the only thing that mattered, like this had nearly broken him.</p><p>“i’m sorry,” tenn says. his fingers curl around gaku’s, an ache in his chest that seems to swell. “i’m sorry, gaku.” he doesn’t know if he’s apologising for tonight or for drawing gaku into this twisted game, for what is to come or because he has done this to gaku.</p><p>“i’m sorry too,” gaku whispers.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>i thought i understood, tenn. i’m sorry i assumed so much, i’m sorry i never asked, that i never noticed the pain you were in.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>i’m sorry too, for using you. for bringing you into this, for lying to you, for hurting you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>i thought i was protecting you, but i never even thought about what i was protecting you from. i promised you, but i broke that promise.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>it’s alright, gaku. i never should have let you make that promise. i release you from it.</em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>his wrist aches. there’s bruises on it from where gaku had grabbed him and he keeps rubbing at it, willing the hurt to keep him grounded. they have come to the final duel, the end of a revolution.</p><p>the dangerous thing about hope is its ability to break a person. tenn has managed this long because he doesn’t hope that someone will save him. he knows that no one will save him, because this isn’t a fairytale, no prince is coming on his white horse.</p><p>because if this was a fairytale, he would still have riku. if this was a fairytale, he would have saved riku instead of cursing him. if this was a fairytale, there would be a happy ending.</p><p>but there isn’t one, he thinks. there can be no happy ending. there is only him and erin, which is all he has left of riku. there is no place for yaotome gaku except as someone in a long series of sacrifices, foolish and hopeful and idealistic.</p><p>so tenn stabs him. because gaku is a fool, because he is naive, because he is idealistic. because he’d never thought tenn would do this, but mostly because gaku had never really understood the rules of this game at all.</p><p>he wonders if it hurts when he draws the sword out of gaku, when he takes a step back. he is the rose bride, he is a tool.</p><p>he is also sorry, but his apologies will not undo this final betrayal.</p><p>he doesn’t look back at gaku, pretends he cannot hear gaku asking him <em>why</em>.</p><p>he pretends he cannot hear gaku calling his name even as the swords dive for him, a familiar pain that he has endured for longer than he can remember. this is his role, his choice, his punishment for trying to defy fate.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>light streaming into a coffin, a voice, a hand reaching out.</p><p>the brief connection before it breaks.</p><p>the sound of a million swords and gaku’s cry of pain, still calling his name.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>a revolution means you come back to the starting point.</p><p>he is back where he started but he is not. a revolution that takes place inside someone changes and reshapes them. perhaps everything is the same.</p><p>but if the revolution has taken place inside you, you are not the same. you are simply back where you started.</p><p>and if there was a revolution, perhaps nothing is the same anymore.</p><p>he knows, has known all this time that he wouldn’t get riku back. he’d thought that having erin would be enough, because he knew erin. for all the world and all his flaws, erin had still been his brother who loved him and accepted him, who was the only one who knew the pain and suffering he’d endured.</p><p>but erin isn't the only one who knows anymore. tenn might love him for who he used to be, but he doesn't need to stay.</p><p>so he leaves, bells clanging behind him.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>if you could revolutionise the world, gaku, what would you change?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>what do you mean?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>if you could change anything at all, what would you change?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>i don’t know. i don’t want to change the world.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>what if you could have any wish you want granted?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>i’d wish for more days like these. days i can spend with you.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kudos and comments always appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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